Pride and Prejudice Quotes

But people themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them for ever.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 9. Elizabeth makes this observation during a conversation with her mother, Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley about the differences between country and city society – Darcy thinks provincial life boring. Her comment is meant as a dig at Darcy, whom she thinks will never change. It also foreshadows the lessons Elizabeth herself will learn about her misjudgment of people, prejudice against Darcy, and the changes she will undergo on her journey to self-knowledge and self-discovery.

"When I am in the country," he replied, "I never wish to leave it; and when I am in town, it is pretty much the same. They have each their advantages, and I can be equally happy in either."

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 9. Asked if he found the country vastly more pleasant than London, Charles Bingley replies to Mrs. Bennet that he is equally happy in the country or city. This is after Mr. Darcy suggests that there is more variety of character in town than in the country – a remark Mrs. Bennet strongly objects to.

"And so ended his affection," said Elizabeth impatiently. "There has been many a one, I fancy, overcome in the same way. I wonder who first discovered the efficacy of poetry in driving away love!"
"I have been used to consider poetry as the food of love," said Darcy.
"Of a fine, stout, healthy love it may. Everything nourishes what is strong already. But if it be only a slight, thin sort of inclination, I am convinced that one good sonnet will starve it entirely away."

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 9. When Elizabeth jokes about poetry driving love away, Mr. Darcy disagrees and alludes to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. In this play the bard metaphorically compares music to the food of love. However, Elizabeth counters that poetry may nourish strong love, but weaker love would be killed by one good sonnet.

Lydia was a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen, with a fine complexion and good-humoured countenance; a favourite with her mother, whose affection had brought her into public at an early age. She had high animal spirits, and a sort of natural self-consequence, which the attention of the officers, to whom her uncle’s good dinners, and her own easy manners recommended her, had increased into assurance.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 9. We learn here that Lydia Bennet is a strong 15-year-old who is well developed with "high animal spirits" and is Mrs. Bennet’s favorite daughter. She has "easy manners" and is obsessed with men, especially the officers of her militia regiment. This passage foreshadows the sexual scandal that the flirtatious Lydia will later become involved in.

"To yield readily – easily – to the persuasion of a friend is no merit with you."
"To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either."
"You appear to me, Mr. Darcy, to allow nothing for the influence of friendship and affection."

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 10. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy argue about the merits of accepting the advice of friends, after Darcy suggests that his friend Mr. Bingley is easily swayed. Elizabeth comments that people who are easily persuaded by friends hold no merit with Darcy. She accuses him of being too detached and dismissive of the opinion of friends. But Darcy makes clear his belief that a person should follow their own convictions. The exchange foreshadows how Bingley will be later be influenced by others in matters of the heart. The banter also shows Darcy’s close-up encounter with Elizabeth’s "liveliness" of mind, something he later admits to falling in love with.

"Oh!" said she, "I heard you before, but I could not immediately determine what to say in reply. You wanted me, I know, to say ‘Yes,’ that you might have the pleasure of despising my taste; but I always delight in overthrowing those kind of schemes, and cheating a person of their premeditated contempt. I have, therefore, made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to dance a reel at all – and now despise me if you dare."
"Indeed I do not dare."

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 10. Mr. Darcy has just asked Elizabeth to dance a reel with him, and when she doesn’t answer, he repeats the request – because he obviously likes her. But her strange reaction here is to refuse him and suggest that he only asked her so that he can make fun of her. Is she trying to tease and punish him perhaps? It is more likely that the early prejudice she formed against Darcy is still very much at play here.

Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody; and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 10. Although she does not know it yet, Elizabeth is showing the first signs of attraction to Darcy – "amazed at his gallantry." Darcy is also falling in love with Elizabeth but sees this as dangerous because he is a higher class than her. There is considerable irony going on in this scene, as Elizabeth has refused to dance with Darcy and expects him to be affronted. Instead he is gallant. He on the other hand is bewitched by her sweetness and archness, when she intended the very opposite – to cut him down to size. Darcy also thinks, were it not for her inferior connections, he might fall in love with her – which is exactly what is happening. Austen is satirizing the snobbery of the upper class and the class divide in the social awkwardness between Darcy and Elizabeth.

I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 11. Miss Bingley is watching Darcy read, so she pretends to be absorbed in reading the second volume of his book in an effort to start up a conversation with him. But she soon gets bored, yawns and throws the book aside. Her comment about how much she loves books is therefore ironic, as it is only a device to get Darcy’s attention. The quote is a good example of the gentle satirical fun Austen likes to poke at the social elite.

"I should like balls infinitely better," she replied, "if they were carried on in a different manner; but there is something insufferably tedious in the usual process of such a meeting. It would surely be much more rational if conversation instead of dancing were made the order of the day."
"Much more rational, my dear Caroline, I dare say, but it would not be near so much like a ball."

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 11. Caroline Bingley is in conversation with her brother Charles about his plan to hold a ball at Netherfield. Caroline is critical of balls because they involve dancing instead of conversation. But she is just trying to impress Mr. Darcy because she believes he is not a lover of dancing. However, dance lover Charles takes the view that it wouldn’t be a ball without the dancing. Dancing was a very important part of the courtship ritual in Jane Austen’s England. In Chapter 3 the author tells us, "To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love."

You either choose this method of passing the evening because you are in each other’s confidence, and have secret affairs to discuss, or because you are conscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage in walking; if the first, I would be completely in your way, and if the second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 11. As Caroline Bingley and Elizabeth walk up and down the room together, Darcy refuses an invitation to join them, saying they could only have two motives for doing this. This passage is Darcy’s reponse, when asked by Caroline what these motives are.

"Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!" cried Elizabeth. "That is an uncommon advantage, and uncommon I hope it will continue, for it would be a great loss to me to have many such acquaintances. I dearly love a laugh."
"Miss Bingley," said he, "has given me more credit than can be. The wisest and the best of men – nay, the wisest and best of their actions – may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke."
"Certainly," replied Elizabeth – "there are such people, but I hope I am not one of them. I hope I never ridicule what is wise and good. Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can. But these, I suppose, are precisely what you are without."

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 11. This exchange between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy comes after Caroline Bingley asserts that she could never tease or laugh at Darcy. She is suggesting that Darcy is socially and intellectually superior and above being laughed at. But Elizabeth is unimpressed by such superiority and laughs at the idea, saying that she dearly loves a laugh. The solemn Mr. Darcy declares that wise men may be made look ridiculous by someone who is a joker. Elizabeth counters by saying she laughs at life’s follies but would never ridicule anything wise or good. Underlying these witty exchanges that take place throughout the novel is a sexual tension between Darcy and Elizabeth. They are the sparks of a smouldering mutual interest that eventually will lead to love.

Yes, vanity is a weakness indeed. But pride – where there is a real superiority of mind, pride will be always under good regulation.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 11. When Elizabeth calls Mr. Darcy out on what she believes are his weaknesses, pride and vanity, he shows some self-awareness by actually acknowledging his defects. But he doesn’t see pride as a weakness where there is "superiority of mind" and it is properly controlled. That may sound arrogant, but he a point there.

No, I have made no such pretension. I have faults enough, but they are not, I hope, of understanding. My temper I dare not vouch for. It is, I believe, too little yielding – certainly too little for the convenience of the world. I cannot forget the follies and vices of others so soon as I ought, nor their offences against myself. My feelings are not puffed about with every attempt to move them. My temper would perhaps be called resentful. My good opinion once lost, is lost forever.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 11. This is Darcy’s response to Elizabeth telling him that he has no defect and "owns it himself without disguise." Here he acknowledges his central flaw, having a resentful character and unforgiving temper towards the vices and offenses of others. He is being honest and displaying integrity here in placing a high value on "good opinion" and reputation. That shows a certain self-awareness about his flaws. But also there is an irony here, as he is not aware of how proud he sounds, as he proudly boasts about his resentful nature.

"Your defect is a propensity to hate everybody."
"And yours," he replied with a smile, "is willfully to misunderstand them."

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 11. Elizabeth and Darcy continue to verbally spar, some might say flirt as there is a palpable sexual tension between the usually solemn Darcy and the playful Elizabeth. Darcy has been trying to seriously explain that everyone has a natural defect despite the best education. In this exchange Elizabeth makes a joke of this and teases by telling him that his defect is to hate everybody. But he is ready for her with his quick comeback that her defect is to wilfully misunderstand everybody – Darcy reads Elizabeth’s nature well here.

To Mr. Darcy it was welcome intelligence – Elizabeth had been at Netherfield long enough. She attracted him more than he liked – and Miss Bingley was uncivil to her, and more teasing than usual to himself. He wisely resolved to be particularly careful that no sign of admiration should now escape him, nothing that could elevate her with the hope of influencing his felicity; sensible that if such an idea had been suggested, his behavior during the last day must have material weight in confirming or crushing it. Steady to his purpose, he scarcely spoke ten words to her through the whole of Saturday, and though they were at one time left by themselves for half-an-hour, he adhered most conscientiously to his book, and would not even look at her.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 12. Poor Mr. Darcy, his heart has been drawing him towards Elizabeth during her stay at Netherfield, but his head is cautioning him that this is a bad idea. Darcy still hasn’t overcome his class prejudice against the low connections of the Bennets. So he is relieved when he hears that Elizabeth and Jane are soon to return home, he makes up his mind not to encourage Elizabeth for the remainder of her stay. He hardly speaks to her all day and when they are left alone briefly he buries himself in a book and ignores her. Darcy may be able to conceal but he cannot deny his strong attraction, for when Caroline Bingley is uncivil to Elizabeth his first instinct is to be protective of Elizabeth.

Pray do not talk of that odious man. I do think it is the hardest thing in the world, that your estate should be entailed away from your own children; and I am sure if I had been you, I should have tried long ago to do something or other about it.

– Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 13. Mrs. Bennet cannot bear to hear Mr. Bennet mention the name of Mr. Collins. Collins is a reminder to the exasperated mother of five daughters of their inability to produce a son and keep their estate within the family. For Longbourn being under an entail means that only a male heir can inherit the estate, so in the event of Mr. Bennet’s death it goes to his cousin Mr. Collins.
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